


Maria Donovan: Origin Story [Batman OC]

by alonelycakeinspace



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman: The Animated Series
Genre: Blood and Violence, Explicit Language, Gen, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Minor Character Death, Murder, Organized Crime, Original Character Death(s), Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-29 22:24:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17211947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alonelycakeinspace/pseuds/alonelycakeinspace
Summary: There was no one little Marie looked up to and admired more than her uncle Daunte Donovan. However,  the innocent child soon falls into a deep emotional rabbit hole when news spread of the kingpin's mysterious death at the hands of the Dark Knight.  Her fear of the Batman, mixed with her ever growing knowledge of  her family's past in the criminal underworld leads her  on a dark and corrupting path to sieze the city, and take revenge, dawining a title more fitting for the rising crime lady of Gotham: Maria Donovan.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This has to be my first attempt at trying to finish out my own DC Comics fanfiction. I absolutely love Batman. I love the characters, the settings, story lines, video games and movies. The Film Noir-esque aesthetics and the Rouge's Gallery, however, has to be my top favorite aspects of the Batman franchise. I am especially inspired by the show, Batman: The Animated Series, with it's more realistic and darker gritty aspects of Gotham, where many of the story lines are around things like gangs, the mobs, and the criminal underworld. All of this, lead me to be inspired to create my own crime lady, Maria Donovan. 
> 
> It's not often we see a woman take the role as a crime boss, or someone taking over the streets of Gotham, so I decided to add my own feminine touch to the mafia story arch. That and, I don't really think there's that much organized crime centered characters, or at least, ones that get the most recognition via the writers and movie and game developers themselves, (lest you count Two-Face, Black Mask, the Falcones, and even the Penguin) So I hope my character will bring something new to the table. 
> 
> Finally, I'd like to address that my writing style does need a lot of work in coherency. Certain scenes might not make sense, just like certain actions I try to explain, and you might not get the certain backstory hints that I try to clumsily lay out, so I apologize in advance. If you do want to give my story a try, and want to understand more of the lore or ask questions, please be free to! I will try to make changed accordingly
> 
> CRITICISM AND FEED BACK IS ALWAYS WELCOMED!

Sunday, 1:50 am. Her breath hitches as her upper body jerks violently in his arms. She holds her breath, almost subconsciously as if she were tricking her body into thinking that holding her breath would stop the pain. The sharp, puncturing, stinging pain. Never in her wildest dreams did she think she would get shot. Obviously, getting shot was an occupational hazard for her, but she, much to her surprise, managed to avoid all of that in her young career, especially when she started so early. She never actually thought hard about the possibility of catching a bullet up until now. She grits her teeth, as one tear quickly ran down her bruised cheek.

The GCPD had the casino resort surrounded almost entirely with their units. She slowly turns her head, writhing in the vigilante's arms as he made his way down the steps. The image of flashing red and blue lights bobbed up and down. Innocent patrons who were injured in the crossfire were now getting loaded up in ambulance trucks. All she saw was discord and inaudible yelling and chat amongst the crowd that was practically waiting for the two to walk out. He ignored that, making his way to an ambulance truck, keeping her secured in his arms and squinting from the flashing camera lights encircling him. From all the chaos, she could still make out one news lady chattering at the mouth about her downfall.

"That's right and here we are in the midst of the aftermath of the crime lord's confrontation with the caped crusader. We're outside the newly opened Rosa Lavender Casino, and here we see the vigilante himself turning Maria Don over to police custody. For months the GCPD have been investigating the rising criminal for activities such as arms dealing, loan sharking, and extortion practices, and now it looks like her mounting success has finally come to an end." the reporter gestured to the cameraman to film the woman being carried off, but Batman continued his stride to the paramedics.

Every Gothamite was watching the late night news was tuning into the event. The thought of this made her feel ashamed more than anything else. She's come so far, but her career was coming to an end all too soon. Maria glared at him, still gritting her teeth. He kept both white glowing eyes forward, carrying her like a baby. She hated that. She despised how unmoved he was about the whole ordeal, but angry mostly at herself for not falling at the hands of him at least, but in the hands of a ricochet bullet.

Batman did eventually look down at her, meeting furrowed eyebrows, teary eyes and gritting teeth.

"Who are you mean muggin'? Huh? You old ugly ass-" during her sentence, she tried to reach up and swipe a hand across his jaw, which he dodged simply by turning his head. She was actually pretty slow, as reaching up to slap him made a fold around where the bullet punctured her gut. Writhing in his arms, she was finally laid down on a stretcher. Her breath hitched more as her fists clenched on her stomach. She stared at the dark sky, just barely making out what Batman was saying to the doctors. How she got shot, how the bullet ricocheted, the type of gun, whatever the hell else. She was hardly paying attention to her surroundings at this point. She didn't care. She failed. Mission over. Before wallowing further in self-pity, she tries to control her breathing. She licks her lips, as her heavy eyelids closed slowly. She relaxes her body into the stretcher as if it were her own bed.

~

"Is yo eyes closed?"

"Mhm..."

"Lemme see." The thirteen-year-old boy walked from behind his baby cousin. The wooden floors of the hallway creaked under the pressure of his winter boots as he leaned down to see her tiny face. Sure enough, her eyes were closed.

"Okay. Now go in the bathroom first." he said, adjusting his glasses.

"I change my mind now...I don't wanna anymore!" she opened her eyes. They sparkled like stars in the pitch black sky. Her heart began to thump faster as she pleaded with her cousin. He scoffed in annoyance, going back behind her. He began to push on her bony shoulders, forcing her closer to the white bathroom door.

"Tsk. Why does it look like you always gotta cry all the time?"

"I'm not! I just don't want to!" she whined, leaning back into his touch, firmly placing her feet on the ground. But it was no use. The feet of her snowman onesie pajamas only made her slip and fall on her back. She scrambled to her hands and knees to make a quick escape, but her older cousin scooped her up in his arms and made his way to the door, still holding onto her. Her small legs kicked in vain. How is it that everyone was stronger, faster, and more resilient than her? Is he going to be like that too?

"Tyler, no! I don't wanna!"

"Imma be in there too!" Tyler said, in a hushed tone of voice. "Dang, just be quiet!"

"But what if he's still in there? You have to check before we go!"

"Man- I- tsk..." Tyler let out a forced and short huff. He twisted the golden doorknob and swung the door opened. He turned the lights back on. The bathroom was empty, with seasonal decorations adding onto the glow of the room from the blinding light bulbs above the mirror. Tyler placed her down on her feet, but she fell backwards purposely. She sat there, stubbornly crossing her arms and shaking her head. Her cornrow braided pigtails shaking as her plastic red and white barrettes clacked together. She was fixated on the red rug she was on, pulling at its little tufts.

"He ain't here, Marie. Batman left." He scratched his scalp through his large growing afro, looking at himself in the mirror.

"Was it because I tried to get uncle Daunte on him?" she asked, finally looking up.

"Yeah, whatever. Now c'mon! You still gotta do it!" Tyler grabbed the flashlight from the counter and turned it back on. Marie nodded, then climbed back on the stepping stool to look at her reflection. Her mouth was parted as she stared. What always amused her was how her brown skin looked lighter in the bright golden light of the bathroom. But soon, Tyler flicked the light switch off, making her scream, "No!"

"Ssh! I got the flashlight, okay? Now here, take it." Tyler handed Marie the flashlight, holding it under her chin until she grabs it herself. She squints, trying to focus on not just her reflection in the mirror, but the tall shadows of her and her cousin looming over them, and her still, dark surroundings. She places both hands firmly on the torch as her thumb stroked the black switch.

"Alright, we're staying for five minutes-"

"You said two at first!"

"No, I didn't!"

"Uh huh, you did!"

"Well, uh..for each time you try to leave the room, I'm adding an extra three!" that quickly shut her up. She looked at Tyler, then back at her reflection.

"As soon as I'm doing this," she thought, "I'm going straight in the bathtub and hide. He didn't say nothing about hiding!"

"Man, hurry up Marie! Or else he coming for your mama downstairs!"

Marie closed her eyes again, taking a deep breath, saying the words nice and slowly, so that even the monster man, somewhere outside, in the streets, or downstairs could hear them.

"Batman...Batman...Batman!" immediately, she shoved the flashlight in Tyler's hand, then jumped off the stepping stool. She then climbed in the white porcelain bathtub to lay down. Tyler's plump lips curled into a smile as he sat on top of the toilet seat cover.

"Now we wait..." he said, flashing his light on Marie in a fetal position inside the tub. Marie, no more than 6 years old, wanted to cry. She wanted to cry as loud as she possibly could, but not one sound drew from her lips. She knew that that monster boogeyman would only find her and Tyler easier if she made any noise.

The game was simple. Stay for two, or in this case, five minutes in the bathroom with the lights off, and hide for as long as you can while Batman lurks in the shadows. This was her second attempt at playing the game, but as scared as she was, she was hoping she would be spared, considering that she was actually hiding, whereas Tyler was out in the open, waving around his flashlight. Her older cousin would always tell her stories about how he would do bad things like play hooky or hang out with some of his alleged gangster friends, then later get, in his own words, "Their asses kicked up and down." by the Dark Knight. But now, says Tyler, that because he's on good terms with Batman, they have an agreement that he can go and hunt her down whenever she plays the game with him. Knowing all the stories he's told her, she can't just flee now and have him catch her, or worse, flee, and have a chance of her mother asking what all the ruckus is about and yell at her for playing along with him, knowing that she would be upset.

"Marie....I- oh no!"

"No!" she cried, curling up even more into her position, wishing the position would swallow her whole, or at least make her look invisible. She prayed that the man's sight would at least be based on movement, considering that there was no good place to hide in but the shower. But it was too late to leave her spot now.

"No, Marie! He's here! He got me! AH!" Tyler screamed, his voice almost cracking as he did. He dropped the flashlight then ran to the shower that stood in front of the mirror. He slid the sliding door shut and began banging on it.

"AHH! MARIE! HELP ME!"

"Tyler make it stop! Make him stop!" Marie finally cracked under pressure. She sobbed, and sobbed, as she tossed and turned in the tub. She laid on her back, staring at the ceiling. She could swear she could see little bats flying around the room, or shadows shifting suddenly in her peripheral vision, even if she was lying in a narrow tub.

Just then, the sound of the wooden floors creaking outside could be heard. Tyler immediately stopped banging on the shower doors and opened it to see who it was. It was one of the adults. He began to sweat, thinking of any excuse he can as to what the two were doing in the bathroom, or why she was crying, why he almost broke the flashlight. Bang, bang, bang. Tyler slowly stepped out of the shower to flick the lights back on. He swallowed, then turned to his baby cousin to shush her.

"Aye, what's the loud noise all about, huh? Whaddya doin' in there?" Marie's ears perked. She recognized that voice. That deep husky voice, with a hint of an Italian-American accent. Uncle Daunte Donovan. Only he could save her now.

"Ssh, Marie! I'm sorry! It's okay-" Tyler tried to comfort her, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her in hopes to get her to sit up. The little girl eventually does and opens her eyes, to see that the lights are on.

"You've been making a racket almost all night up here. What's going on?" Daunte asked, twisting the doorknob and pushing the door open to see his sweet little Maria crying and climbing over the bathtub.

"Uncle Daunte! It was the Batman! He tried to get me again! He even got Tyler this time!" she ran towards him with her arms stretched out.

"Hey, hey, hey, Maria..." Daunte cooed patiently, as he kneeled down to hug her. He glared at his stepson as Marie buried her face in his white tuxedo.

"He got Tyler! H- He was gonna get..m- me!" she stuttered as he pulled her back to examine her. Her cheeks were burning red and tear stained. Her uncle smiled, shaking his head at the girl.

"Then he must have done a lousy job!" he chuckled, placing his hands on her sides and picking her up. "Besides, he ain't nowhere in this house. He knows not to be anywhere near my little Maria." The large man turned on his heels to leave the bathroom, then immediately turned back around to hit Tyler on the back of his head. The boy yelped, rubbing the back of his head, glaring up at him, seeing Marie resting her head on his shoulders with her legs wrapped around and squeezing his sides. She was six years old, but was being cradled like a baby. A whiny sensitive baby. And here he is, going into the eighth grade and still getting smacked like he's in third. That annoyed him more than anything. How his "innocent" baby cousin can get so much protection and with seemingly no effort.

"No more of this funny business, huh?"

"Man, I was only just play-" another smack to the back of the head.

"Wiseguy...I said 'No more funny business.' Did ya get that? She's like a baby! Don't be going around scaring her like that. And you were yelling and screaming, causing a ruckus for us downstairs!"

"Okay, but she was also crying though.."

"Aye, shut your smart a- mouth up! You hear? Shut it!" He was going to say "ass" instead. He wanted to, but he couldn't with the child around. He gripped Tyler by the shoulder and pushed him outside the bathroom, slamming the door behind the three of them. Tyler, being frustrated and angry, roughly brushed his shoulder off and made his own way downstairs. Daunte followed right behind.

"Thank you for protecting me.." Marie said, trying to take deep breaths in and out.

"Hey, don't worry about it, Maria. Your cousin is just being lil' punk, that's all. The Batman was nowhere near that bathroom, okay?" he assured her, finally placing her back on her own two feet before climbing downstairs. She nods understandingly while holding her uncle's hand.

"And no one messes with my uncle Donovan!" she added as her tiny brown hands gripped onto his olive colored fingers, adorned in shiny gold rings. He was impressed with her.

"Yeah, no punk off the street messes with your uncle. 'Cause what's my name kid?" Marie giggled, wiping the last of her tears.

"D. Don!"

"Yeah, that's right!" He raised a hand and hovered it over her. She raised hers and stood on her toes. Their hands slammed together in a high five, as his niece cheered.

"You're D. Don!" He was proud.


	2. Chapter 2

Tyler was in the kitchen by himself, helping himself with the full plate of gingerbread men he left over before running off with Marie in the bathroom. Marie could see him seated at the table as she made her way down the steps. She waved, but Tyler merely looked at the two walk by, crumbs of gingerbread falling from the corners of his mouth as he chewed. He stopped like a deer in headlights, quickly hiding all his cookies from his uncle. Marie looked up at her uncle, still cheering "D. Don! D. Don!" while 'D. Don' ushered her to turn a left into the next room.

In the living room, her mother Sarah, and her aunt Charlotte sat on the grey sofa, watching a cartoon Christmas special Marie left on the tv. They were twins, but nowhere near identical. Charlotte was a darker shade of brown than her sister. She had penciled in eyebrows, making a straight slant on her forehead. She had her signature blonde wig in a short curly bob and a fancy red sparkling dress. Charlotte was always extravagantly dressed thanks to her husband, whereas Sarah was in her blue pajama pants, cardigan, and grey shirt. Her hair was flat ironed in a messy ponytail. She had a pear-shaped body but was smaller than her sister. She was also a few shades lighter than Charlotte, but just as brown as her daughter.

Sarah's voice was soft and monotoned while her face was in its usual vexing state. She took a deep breath in, massaging her migraine. "Hey. Marie! Hey!" she called, finally getting the girl's attention. Marie stopped, catching her mom's glare as her heart began to sink in her chest.

"Get over here." Her mother ordered quietly, almost mouthing her words. Marie stopped in place. Did she do something wrong? Was she supposed to be in the living room? Why's Tyler all by himself? She looked up at her uncle who gestured her over to Sarah. Charlotte's eyes were fixed on the box television, almost tuning out her surroundings. She only occasionally looked at Sarah and Marie just by darting her eyes left and right nervously. That, topped with her uncle giving her a reassuring pat on the back answered all of her questions.

Her mom waited for her to move. Her arm was on the arm of the sofa and her head rested between her thumb and index. Her eyes were cold; dull even. But you could see a hint of annoyance if you looked beyond those dark irises. She didn't need to come to her child or repeat herself like a parrot. She'd give the order once, and wait. Planning on the punishment she'd lay down the longer she had to wait. You could see it on her cold and calculating face.

"Go on, Maria. Your mama is waiting for you." Daunte said in his gruff voice, rubbing her shoulders. Marie dragged her feet towards the sofa. Sarah rolled her eyes and began to sigh, rubbing her pounding forehead.

"What did I tell you about playin' that Batman game, huh?" Marie didn't answer. She focused on her small fingers and swayed her body left and right.

"I don't want any of that screaming in my house, you hear?"

"I'm sorry, mama." Marie said, still looking down and off to the side.

"Why would you play that game knowing you were scared?"

Marie didn't say anything. It'd be a long winded response if she tried to explain, which would only make her mom's headache grow worse. But the silence said a thousand words for Sarah. She made a long and silent "Mhmm", confident that this wouldn't be a problem again.

"Mama, is Batman real or made up?"

"Oh, he's real," Sarah said. She wasn't trying to be intimidating, there was just no point in lying about it. She's six years old, so might as well let her sob it out and get over her fear sooner than spend nights with Marie crying about it or running around trying to summon him again. She looked at her child sympathetically. She reached out to her and pulled her onto the couch, wrapping her arm around her.

"That doesn't mean he wants anything to do with ya, baby." Sarah rubbed her child's arm up and down as the girl rested her head snug on her's.

"Yeah, don't be scared Marie." her aunt added knowing it was safe to intervene. She wrapped her fingers around the blonde curls of her wig. She began to snicker, nudging at Sarah. " 'Cause ya know, there's something awfully strange about a man running around with a little boy in booty shorts! You feel me?" she cackles, showing off her rose gold tooth in her smile. The corner of Sarah's lips shakily curled into a smile, as she too began to snicker, the more she thought about it.

"I think that boy is just around Maria's age too! Just a bit older at least!" Daunte added. Sarah kept laughing. She even began to snort, but she held onto her daughter tightly, her face scrunching up in an attempt to show visible disgust.

" Donovan, stop! I don't wanna think about that!"

"Aye, c'mon now, I'm just saying! The kid might be a little older or a little younger. Who knows! No one knows that 'Boy Wonder's' age!" he shook his head, taking a seat on a sofa chair near the couch.

"These kinds of things amaze me. With all this running and jumping off buildings in masks and capes and short shorts! It's like a living in an action film!"

"Welcome to the new age of Gotham." Charlotte shook her head, wrapping strands of her wig around her stiletto red nails. " We never had to deal with these kinds of things back in Bludhaven." Charlotte shook her head, pursing her lips. "Ain't that right, lil' sis?"

"Yeah.." Sarah was quiet for a minute. It was still annoying that her twin kept calling her that, but she noticed little Marie was listening in on them.

"Things were a whole lot simpler, let me tell you." Daunte began, cracking his knuckles.

"I don't wanna talk about this." Sarah said, looking down at her daughter.

"Calm down, Miss. Bludhaven. We weren't talking about nothing!" her sister teased.

"That's Mrs. Hendricks to you, boo!" Sarah rolled her eyes, feeding into her sister's usual banter.

Marie was passively listening to the adults. She leaned forward to grab the remote from the coffee table. She looked at them for permission to change the channel, getting a nod of approval by her aunt and mom while Donovan kept ranting and raving about masks and tights and short shorts. She began to channel surf. There was one Santa Claus movie on another channel that she's been waiting all night to see. It was 8:00 pm and it started at 7:49. She was hoping to catch as much as she could before bed.

Commercial, commercial, Christmas music video, commercial, adult tv show she got in trouble for watching, commercial. She decided to turn back around to the previous channels, hoping to catch any familiar scene from the movie she saw in the advertisement. Eventually, she found the Gotham City news channel. There was a woman behind a desk, speaking next to a picture of three laughing men leaving from some kind of club together. Their arms were on each other's shoulders, as if they were a pact, like the Three Musketeers. Two of which had matching black suits with white stripes and matching fedoras. Marie couldn't believe what she saw. She squinted her eyes and turned the volume up louder. The lady's voice boomed, accompanied with static. In the middle was her uncle Donovan. He had his signature white tux on. In fact, the same one he was wearing right then. She turned her head to the left to check, and from there she saw her uncle stare at the tv. His mouth was ajar. His eyes widened as his pupils begin to dart all over the screen.

"Marie turn that tv off!" Sarah ordered.

"Turn the volume down!" Charlotte yelled over her sister. Daunte gave out a harsh "Sssh" as he shook his arm up and down violently. Charlotte began to shake, covering her mouth and running her nails down her dark black cheeks unsteadily.

"Daunte...w- we just got out of there!" Charlotte spoke softly to her husband in a shaky whisper, as she pointed to the nightclub.

"Sssh, ssh! Let me think!" What was wrong? Marie looked uncertainly at the remote, lowering the volume down. All the excitement made Tyler run from the kitchen, with gingerbread stuffed in his mouth. His brows raised in shock, seeing his stepdad on the news. Marie didn't understand the fuss. She was just as frustrated that everyone was keeping her in the dark as she was getting anxious. She didn't understand half of what the news anchor was saying. All she understood was the look of absolute terror growing in everyone's eyes.

"Mama, what's wrong?" Marie whispered, being shushed immediately.

"Blah, blah, brothers arrested, blah blah, investigation, blah blah, kingpin Donovan, blah blah, Batman...getting close to finishing the..blah. "

"Shit!" Daunte bounced up from the chair, rubbing his hands over his black, slicked back hair. He then rubbed his face, muttering to himself. Charlotte made her way to Daunte, trying to comfort him. Tyler stood with a blank expression, trying to process everything going on, just like his baby cousin.

"We gotta go." He said definitively. "We gotta get out of here." with a swift and clean movement, he grabbed his white fur coat from the coat hanger, and his white panama hat. He turned on his heels, swinging the coat over his shoulders and placing the hat on his head. Charlotte grabbed her smaller white fur coat.

"Uncle Donovan?" Marie tried to get up and walk to her uncle, but was pulled back by her arm in a clean motion. Sarah sat her kid on the couch as Tyler made his way to the other side of the living room to grab his jacket. Marie watched the ordeal unfold. Her head was getting filled with questions with no one to answer them.

"Tyler, what happened?" she asked in a whisper as he began to walk past her.

"Old man got in trouble. Again." he rolled his eyes. His heart was pounding just like Marie's, but he still had his, "tough angry gangster" image to maintain.

"Boy, come on!" Daunte said, snapping his fingers and beckoning him over, like a disobedient puppy. The thirteen-year-old only huffed loudly, struggling to put his hoodie on in such a rush. Charlotte opened the door and made her way outside.

"Sorry, sis! Imma call you later, okay?" Charlotte's voice wavered up and down as she chanted, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus."

"Be careful!" she called out, seeing Tyler following his mother closely.

Daunte followed behind, leaving the front door wide opened. Sarah stood in the door frame, watching her nephew and sister getting in the car parked in front of the house. Daunte was talking to his wife through the driver side of the window. Sarah was standing on the porch, wrapping her pajama sweater, along with her arms, tightly around her body. She forgot to wear some shoes before stepping outside, so she stood in place, curling her toes in her socks to keep them from stiffening up. He made his way back to her, the snow crunching under his shoes as he cut through the lawn. She hesitantly made her way down the porch steps, dragging her feet on the clear, yet cold and wet driveway. She stopped in front of the lawn, making him stop dead in his tracks. Inside the house, Marie pushed back the curtains to see what the fuss was about. She left a narrow gap in between the drapes to get away with her eavesdropping. So far all she saw was Daunte's hand gestures, the two nodding, Sarah's head shaking, and lips mouthing words.

Outside in the cold and snowy night. Donovan looked down, giving off a heavy sigh as he rubbed his hands together to warm them up. Sarah looked out into the darkness of the street, turning around to see if anyone was listening in or watching.

"The hell you got yourself into now?" Sarah asked in a hushed tone.

"Sarah, look. I-" he tried to gather up his words, whispering as slowly as possible. "We were in the middle of buying off some supply, well- I was in charge with distributing. That was it- the only thing they put me in charge of! The twins were helping with the shipments and uh- you know..." Sarah just shook her head, pursing her lips at the grand statured man.

"Now that that Bat freak turned them in, I- I got to think of something!" He said, beginning to swear and under his breath as he sticks a cigarette in his mouth from his pocket. He reached in his same pocket and grabbed his zippo lighter.

Click. He opened it.

He ran his calloused thumb on the wheel. All he managed to ignite were sparks of orange and red. He kept striking and striking. His hand shaking nervously as he did so, flinching with each spark. Sarah took a hold of his hand, now beginning to steady with her touch. He smiled, with his cigarette tilting upwards in place between his teeth. A thick, black eyebrow raised at the smaller woman. He could still see that spark in her. The woman, Miss. Blüdhaven, who he had become so familiar with. The fire was lit, just with one stroke of her smaller thumb. Holding his hand, she even raised it up to his cigarette. He closed the lid, nodding in appreciation. She stared at the ground. He stared at her, inhaling and exhaling smoke.

"I'm telling you though, I'll get the situation under control." he said, placing the stick between his fingers, blowing the grey smoke in the crisp cold air. "By Christmas, I'll have everything shipped and moving. Out of my hair for good. I'm making sure about that."

"Well, why does it have to be by Christmas? Take your time with this shit." She snapped like she was reprimanding her child. "That's probably why that man is after you anyways, Daunte! You're sloppy!"

"Maria," he said blankly, as he gestured towards the house behind her. "She'll be coming over for Christmas. We already talk-"

"Yeah, nah." Sarah interrupted, looking him up and down. He cocked his head back in disbelief.

"But you were fine with it earlier!"

"Yeah, but I don't want her in the midst of your drug trafficking scandal! I thought you were lying low. Not lying ya low ass off!" she sighed, placing a hand on her hip. "Tyler can come over, though."

"I want to see her, Sarah." he said, his voice going faint. "Besides, Christmas isn't until another week!" he said. Her hand rose to his face, making him fuming angry.

"Stop right there. You lied to me."

"Well, this lying asshole wouldn't have to lie if you didn't act so paranoid! Tyler's with his mother, and she's with me! And so far they're both just fine!"

"I just don't trust you, Donovan! Not anymore! I- I mean, you ain't been very subtle with your little business now that the GCPD is on your back! That Batman is on your back too, but you expect me to just hand her over to you, though?"

"For one day, Sarah!"

"Just-" she said, motioning herself giving away a baby in her arms "Hand her over! 'Oh here, policemen. Here's my daughter, under my care, traumatized by all the gunshots and murder around her!'"

"I'm telling you, I am. Getting it. Handled." He spoke slowly, emphasizing each syllable as a way to control his frustration. At this point, he might as well negotiate with a wall, because once Sarah makes up her mind, there's no more debate. "And if I don't handle it now, she can come for New Years!" still, it didn't hurt to try.

"Can I come?"

"Yes, Sarah!"

"Even Henry?" Sarah asked, leading him on with a fake smile.

"Hairline Hendricks? Sure, why not. The guy's aight."

"How nice! No." She crossed her arms, still smiling.

"Only when things have cooled down will I try to call, okay?"

"Even then, I can't trust you around her, Daunte! You know how it feels, hearing her jump around singing, 'D. Don, D. Don.'? What does she know about any of that?"

"She's just a kid, she likes my name! It's a catchy name! Better than 'Marie.'"

"Aye, Maria!" Sarah mocked him, using a cartoonishly bad Italian accent. "Let me teach you how to fire an uzi, huh? Oh, mama mia! That's a spicy vendetta! Mwuah!"

"Okay, so you think you're being funny? Well, you know something, Sarah? At least family is still important to me! Your paranoia is gonna raise a lonely child, let me tell you that!" He responded, puffing out smoke during every other sentence. Sarah wanted to be mad. She was practically steaming out the ears, but maybe he was right?

"Maybe next year. But I dunno. It's the fact that you lied to me! You said you'd quit this business and go legit, but you expect me to just drop her off in your care while that Batman is out looking for you? The GCPD all watching your every move? What if I didn't know any of that? Huh?" Sarah sighed, shaking her head.

"You said it yourself. Things were a whole lot simpler for us. If some guy in a mask weren't chasing you, perhaps I'd consider it...but.."

"Tyler's been with me since he was eight! So far he's doing just fine."

"You're so stupid, Donovan. Always were." she rolled her eyes, making her way back to the house. She stopped, holding the screen door handle. She turned her head, slightly smiling. "But you stay safe, you hear?"

"Will do, Miss. Bludhaven!"

"Bye, Don Donovan." she smiled, going back in the house and locking the door, mumbling "Jesus, that man." under her breath as her toes felt a wave of warmth again. Marie kept on staring as she saw the black vehicle drive into the driveway, pull out, and speed off in the direction it came from.

"What'd I say about getting in grown folks' business?" Her heart sunk as her mother pulled her by her collar away from the window. She was so busy staring at the window, that she didn't hear her come in. She trembled.

"Okay.." she replied, not really answering the question. Marie knew it was her time to her room anyway. Her mother just blinked and shook her head, gently leading her up the steps. It's usual for her to never answer her daughter's questions. She thought the less attention she gives to Marie's curiosity about something, the sooner she'd forget about it. And her method usually worked. But it at least kept Marie quiet about it. Sometimes.

"You can still watch cartoons. Just don't go on the news okay? I'll be listening.."

"Okay mama." she said, now halfway upstairs. Little Marie wouldn't go on the rest of her night upset. She did pick up a few things from the conversation. Especially the part where she can come over to his place on Christmas. She hadn't been there for a while. She vaguely remembered it too. She just remembered how absolutely grandiose and large it was. He had a pool in the backyard and inside the house, multiple bedrooms, each except Tyler's and his and Aunt Charlotte's room being her own when she stayed over a few nights. She could scream and dance all she wanted there, because the house was so big. The marble floors were always shiny and reflective, and around the holidays, the mansion was absolutely beautiful. It was like a winter wonderland when you visited. Her favorite part was the large towering Christmas tree that reached the high ceiling in the living room. Marie went inside her room and sat on top of her bed, rubbing her belly through her onesie.

The beautiful decorations, the tree, even sitting in Donovan's big brown office chair, was what helped her feel safe. It helped her forget what happened downstairs. Though she couldn't help but wonder was what exactly did Batman want with her uncle Daunte? She turned her head towards the window to look at the moon in the dark sky.

"No punk off the street messes with your uncle."

She hoped he was right. She recalled a time when seeing each other wasn't such a hassle. Her uncle's embrace was like a shield, the sweet smell of his cigars gave her a sense of familiarity like the smell of baked cookies at grandma's house for any other child, and the sound of his voice, mumbling nonsensical words she never understood was what lulled her to sleep that night.


	3. Chapter 3

December 19th. Christmas was just around the corner, and all Marie could do was sleep off the anticipation and excitement. She rustled in bed as the white blinding light from outside shone through her window and onto her face. She curls up, completely engulfing herself in the purple sheets, clutching the fabric tightly as tingles of excitement shot from her spine to her toes. Just the idea that she was another day closer to Christmas was enough to make her scream and roll around to get all of her jitters out. However, she was afraid of upsetting her mom and waking her up. After all, the house was very still and quiet, her mom must be asleep.

Sarah was downstairs in the kitchen, preparing her morning coffee. "She must be asleep.," she thought, leaning over on the counter to see the pot slowly fill to the 4 oz mark "The house is way too quiet otherwise." She turns around and drags her feet to the table to take a bite of stale, leftover gingerbread men. She wasn't too hungry nor awake, but she didn't know whether or not she wanted to sleep or stay up. She wasn't sad, or happy, she was just there. She stares blankly at the calendar on the refrigerator marking down the days to Christmas as she slowly chews on the cookie. 

It was three days since the incident with Daunte's visit, and Marie got over it pretty quickly. Too quickly; considering the fact that Marie was always a nosy girl. She would have asked a dozen questions by now, and the fact that she's been quiet about it makes her even more worried. Sure, her method of shutting down any questions Marie has might be working, but just the idea that she's up in her room quietly thinking to herself that she could actually come back to that man's house this year unnerved her. The whole entirety of Christmas was starting to get on her nerves. Just last night, she was on the phone with her sister who was still scared of the huge hunt the police and Batman were on, and the cracking down on her husband 's livelihood. 

"I'm scared because what if it happens on Christmas? I don't wanna be locked up on Christmas! You know what this is starting to remind me of? When Tyler's "real" daddy got locked up on Christmas...so what if the same thing happens to me and Daunte on Christmas? Christmas! Christmas! Is Marie comin' on Christmas? Christmas! Christmas! I don't blame you, because she needs to be with her family on..." 

She loved her twin, Charlotte, she really did, but she couldn't care less about what her family was doing on the holiday. She doesn't even know why this sudden loathing for the holiday had just now come about, considering that all the Christmases with her family, with Charlotte, with Daunte, were nothing but bitter memories. Bitter memories of a bitter woman with a bitter past she'd rather forget. And for the most part, she does forget about it all. But when she does, guess who's knocking on the front door?

She finishes the cookie and turns around to see that the pot was already filled to the 12 oz mark. She grabs a few packets of sugar from the table to prepare her drink. It was like she was in her own personal bubble. Sarah didn't hear or see anything outside of her focus, which caused a chilling jolt throughout her spine when she heard the click of the front door unlocking. She could faintly hear the muffled and deep voice of a man struggling outside. Whoever was outside was pushing and pushing themselves against the door until she could feel the slight tremor from the living room all the way into the kitchen. Sarah went to investigate.  
Henry, who's been outside trying to unlock the door for two minutes now had finally got the wet frozen doorknob to unlock. He twisted and pushed until he finally made it. The door swung open letting in all the biting wind and air in. Sarah stood in front of him, empty mug in hand.

"Well you're back early." she said walking up to wrap an arm around her tall and stocky husband, feeling some wet snow on her pajamas from his coat.

"Hey!" He spoke in between breaths and kissed her on the cheek, his chevron mustache tickling her cheeks."I decided to come home early. I was going to stay over my folks' for a few more days but..you know they got into it again. Besides, I was feeling homesick." He sniffled, taking off his scarf and coat and swung it on the coat hanger, going back to the mat in front of the door to dry his feet off. 

"How have things been?"

"Oh yeah..." Sarah shrugged, immediately thinking back to the incident with Daunte. "Ain't nothing happened for real, ya know? Just that Charlotte and Tyler came over, is all." 

"Is that right?" Henry asked, rubbing his stiff, cold hands together as he went to the staircase. Sarah immediately felt stupid for saying that. It wasn't like Gotham News aired on her tv alone. He must have seen everything go down on the news by now. Her heart thumped as she hesitantly followed behind her husband as he went upstairs to their daughter's room.   
Henry peeked in to see a small figure curled up under the blankets. He squeezed himself through the door and leaned over, making a small bird-like whistle. When that did nothing, he reached to shake her awake, until Marie sat right up, fully erect and flailing her arms. 

"HI DAD!" she sung, feeling clever tricking her parents into thinking she was asleep. "I heard you come up the steps!" Henry's lip curled into a smile. He hugged Marie and kissed the top of her forehead. 

"What have you been doing since I was gone?" he asked, stepping aside as she slid off of the bed. 

"Nothing.." she shrugged, swaying side to side. "I have just been watching tv. And I played in the snow a little bit."

"And what about Tyler?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "And his mom?"

"Oh well...they came over a while back- well not too long ago, but they came when you were gone. They only came for one night. He taught me about the Batman game and stuff."

"The...Bat-man game?" he inquired, genuinely curious. 

"Yeah, but he ain't coming after me."

"He's not coming after you." he nods, doing his usual routine of correcting his wife and child's grammar. Marie's eyes widened catching onto her mistake and feeling a little stupid afterward. 

"Well, I got you a few things on my way back."

"Really?" she asked. From his plastic bag, he pulled out two presents. One wrapped in a shiny dark green wrapping paper, and the other in shining red. The red one was wider than the other, while the green one's thick and rectangular shape felt satisfying to the touch. She goes for the red one, because it was bigger, and began to unwrap and tear at it. Until it revealed a large book. The cover was smooth but had the realistic design of wood around the borders, with a little puppet boy in the middle, on top of a table, being painted by an old white man. "The Adventures of Pinocchio" it read. Marie couldn't believe her eyes. She wanted to read this for so long, ever since she saw the cartoon movie. 

"You can open both of these at the same time if you want. But make sure you read them, okay? You know the rules. If you're not going to play outside, I want to see you get some reading done."

"Thank you!" Marie hugged her dad again. Just looking at the book cover and feeling the weight of it made her feel as smart and prestigious as her dad. She immediately began reading aloud in front of her dad. Sarah, seeing that nothing was really going on and that Henry wasn't pressing any more questions about the visit any further, went back downstairs to fix her coffee. She left the two there. One reading while sitting on the edge of the bed, while the other nodded approvingly as he knelt down. Just seeing that helped ease her nerves a little. Maybe she would even get her mind off of Daunte. If she even was thinking about him at all. Once Sarah left the two there, she went into the kitchen to get the entire plate of leftover gingerbread men and her coffee, now starting to cool down. Just as she went into the living room to sit down on the couch, the phone began to ring. She rolled her eyes and groaned aloud as she went to the ringing house phone. She picked it up from the charger and answered.

"Who is this?" 

"Uhh...hey auntie.." answered Tyler awkwardly. 

"Oh, hey Tyler!" Sarah was taken aback. This was probably the first time Tyler actually called her on the phone before. " How's your mama doing?"

"Ah, you know man..she good," he said, nodding on the other side. "She good, ma'am."

"That's good..." There was a moment of awkward silence before Tyler asked if Marie was awake yet. 

"Yeah, she's awake. What's up?"

"I just gotta talk to her."

"About what?"

"It's just about Christmas stuff, ya know?" he replied, in between his awkward stutters. Sarah's suspicions began to creep in the back of her mind as she raised an eyebrow. 

"What Christmas stuff?"

"I dunno- I- oh hold on." Tyler covered the mouthpiece on his end but she could still hear him say in exasperation, "What?"

"My mom wants to see if she could come over. Like- go somewhere for Christmas with us."

"Tell her she can't go." 

"I- uh.."

"Did Charlotte really tell you to say that?"

"Yes ma'am." he said with certainty." she didn't know what to believe now. She just nods, licking her lips before asking if Charlotte was even there. Tyler assured her she was, and so hesitantly, she went up to her child's room to give her the phone. 

"Your cousin wants you on the phone." she said, interrupting her reading to her dad. Henry got up from his knees, groaning as he slowly rose from the floor. He explains to Marie that it's been a very long drive from his parents, and that he wants to go and take a quick nap anyways. He pats her on the shoulder, and gives her another firm reminder   
hat if she's not doing anything else, to read those books he gave her. He excused himself from the room, while his wife lingered a little longer. She handed her the phone and Marie held it up to her ear while studying the picture of the old man and his puppet. 

"Hello?" 

"Uh- hey yeah, hold on." Tyler began to cover the mouthpiece again. The sound of muffled yelling was heard before the phone was passed to someone else on his end. It wasn't too long of a wait before her uncle was on the phone, coughing and wheezing before he could get a response.

"H-hello?" Marie asked again, looking at her mom still standing in the doorway. She recognized that deep and gruff wheezing and coughing, but something in her knew that she shouldn't let her mom know who she was talking to.

"Ma-ri- cough a! Haha, ah Maria it's good to hear from you again. It's been forever!" Daunte smiled, banging on his chest as he leaned himself against his office chair. He heard the giggle of his little Maria from her end, making him smile. He looked up to see Tyler still standing there with his resting mean mugging face. He shooed his stepson away before continuing. 

"Oh, that cousin o' yours is gonna give this old man a heart attack!" he chuckled lowly. " I had to get him to call, 'cause I knew your mother would pick up the phone. If she thought it was Tyler, then she'd bring it to you. And now I'm here, huh? Howddya like that?"

"I think that's cool!" she smiles brightly, swinging her legs, hoping it would throw off her mother. To her surprise, she was actually on her way out the room before she could even turn to take another look.

"So how's my Maria, huh? Ready for Christmas with D. Don right?" Marie squealed excitedly at that, saying "mmhm, mmhm, mmhm!" 

"Hey that's good, that's good. Yeah but...your mother- she uh- she's always been stubborn. Always. But she's gonna come around."

"Mmhm." Marie nodded, trying to find the page that she was on. Daunte raised his thick brown eyebrows as he turned around in his swivel chair to look out the window of his great yard. His feeling wavered a bit, thinking that she was no longer excited to hear from him. That her mother finally got to her. 

"You okay there?"

"Hmm?" Marie perked up. "Oh yeah, just reading something."

"Oh, you like to read? That's good. It's good to be a kid and like reading, unlike your big cousin Tyler, who's a pain in my a-" he quickly tried to find a new word to say, "My-a culo." he said.   
"I like to read sometimes." she shrugs, having to admit that reading wasn't her favorite thing in the world to do, but mostly hating to be compared to her cousin that way. It felt wrong...like he always hated her for it. 

"That's a good thing! You'll be very smart one day! Like your dad, hairline Hendricks."

"Why do you call him that?"

"Because he's Mr. Hendricks. He's a smart guy too, but he became so smart that his brain grew bigger, which gave him more stress having a brain occupied with so much intellect! The more stressed he got, the more his hair fell out! Notice that receding hairline of his?" he chuckled, getting a giggle back from the girl, confused at what he meant, but curious to recheck her dad's hair. 

"So what's the name of that book?"

"The Adventures of Pinocchio!" she answered proudly, still skimming through the same sentence over and over after losing her place. 

"Pinocchio...Pinocchi- hey, I remember Pinocchio! My grandmama would tell me stories."

"Uh-huh, and there's a cartoon!"

"Really? Oh yeah, there was.." Daunte said, trying to remember, as he cracked his knuckles. He was surprised that she was reading a story from Italy. Though she might not be too concerned with that, he still found that as an opportunity to talk about that. "That story is Italian! Know anything about Italians?" He asked. Marie thought for a moment. She felt like she heard "Italian" before, whether it was from her uncle or on tv. She took a wild guess.

"You are!" she exclaimed rather quickly.

"Wha- huh?" 

"You're Italian!" At this, Daunte laughed. 

"Yes, yes, I didn't catch you there for a second. I'll teach you all about Pinocchio and other stories. There's more to it than me n' Pinocchio, Maria."

Marie was genuinely intrigued. She asked about what it meant being Italian, how he's Italian, what Italy was, and was it fun to be there.

"I have no idea, Maria. I wasn't born there. I was born here in the states, Bludhaven. My mom and dad, they were born there. But I think my grandad was Irish, or part Irish or something. That's where I get my last name." And then he went on and on. Sometimes hopping off of certain subjects, going on little tangents while still having the ear of his little girl to listen all the way through. It wasn't long until they reached the hour mark of their conversation, at this point, Sarah came back into the room, to see her still on the phone.

"Marie, lemme see that phone for a minute." Marie froze, shaking her head, saying "I'm busy!" but the phone was snatched from her.

"And when you want to say goodbye," he continued, not knowing what was happening. "You can say, ciao as well."

"Daunte!" Sarah said in a hushed tone of voice, giving the man a slight heart attack.

"Sarah, what are you doing!?"

"Bye. Ciao. Don't call here again." she hung up the call, clenching the phone in her hand.

"But mama!" 

"Go. You haven't eaten all morning. I made you some cereal." she said, in a "that's final" kind of tone. "He wasn't supposed to call you, anyway. I told you, you ain't going over to his house!"

"We weren't talking about that though!" Marie began to jump up and down on her bed, readying herself for a tantrum. Sarah glared at her, furrowing her slanted eyebrows. Marie knew to stop sniffling and go downstairs. Sarah rolled her eyes, standing in the middle of the small room, with her face buried in one hand. She wanted to scream.   
~

 

Daunte sighed, swearing to himself as his wife stepped into his office to check on him.

"Baby..."

"Quella donna e un dolore nel mio culo!" he sighed, still swearing under his breath in inaudible Italian. Charlotte never got around to learning anything that he says, but she does remember words she's most familiar with like "culo".

"Maybe you should just leave it alone." Charlotte suggested.

"Nerve of that- that! She acts like a complete stranger sometimes! Not to you, not to Tyler! But me, always me!" Charlotte felt hurt, her heart sinking from her chest to her throat. He was obsessed with that child for as long as she could remember, and yet she can't remember a single good moment he and her son had together, it still hurts knowing that whatever Marie's got is nothing like her own son. 

"You know...if it makes you feel better. Me and Tyler were thinking of giving you a present." 

"You? I can see that, Tyler? Nah...no way." Charlotte took a deep breath in, her false eyelashes blinking away her tears. 

"You know how children are with stepfamilies." Charlotte explained.

"Oh yeah? Well, I'll tell you something, Charlotte. It's been five years. FIVE! It's about time he was over that deadbeat asshole!"

"Daunte stop it!" Charlotte raised her voice, clenching her fist. "Okay, so maybe I lied, but don't start calling anybody's dad like that! Not even his!"

"Well, I wasn't the one bringing up stepfamilies! Jesus Christ..." he rubbed his sweaty forehead, feeling all of the stress in his brain growing as he regrets what he had said to her. "Charlotte, I'm sorry, okay? I'll stop...I'll drop the whole thing.." it was quiet. Daunte stood up and sighed, embracing his wife. Cooing and comforting her. 

"I'm sorry, this is all just getting to me. It's making me lose my mind." 

"So you just gotta get your mind off it, then! You have about a dozen problems right now, and you're hooked up on one." she said sternly. "The deal first. Christmas later."

"I know...I know."

"Tyler still has a Christmas that he wants to enjoy too."

"Well, I don't know what he wants! How should I know? He never says anything to anybody-"

" One of those new video game stations that are out. He has a magazine for it and everything. With little fantasy games that go with it too. Commercials always air that on tv." she retorts blankly, as she turns on her heels.

"Okay well..I'll give him that. I'll give both kids presents, just to be fair!" 

Charlotte simply shook her head. "Okay then, Daunte.."

"It won't even be anything extravagant for Marie! I'll give Tyler his game, and Marie a uh- card! A Christmas card!"

"You do that.."

"And a nice little teddy bear holding the card too, huh?"

She hung her head low, then saw herself out of his office.


	4. Chapter 4

December 24th, Christmas Eve. Daunte hadn't made any attempt to call the Hendricks residence, even giving up on the idea of having Marie over entirely. He couldn't even think about having her over for Christmas; there was so much work to be done. There he sat in his office. Donavon had just finished a call with the twin's underboss. There was no telling how long their sentencing will be, but he did ensure him that he'll be meeting him to their place of operation along with his goons.

Daunte looked down at his watch, long hand pointing to six and the shorthand pointing at nine. He thought that he'd be able to meet up with him after a few more drinks. He remembered years and years ago on nights like these. It felt like an eternity and a half since he was young. Naive, fresh-faced, still new to the business. He stared down at the crimson red wine stain, still wet and visible on his white carpet. The stain was only enhanced by the warm golden glow of his room. His dark eyes were empty, and sucken in. He was short-tempered, and his tolerance was especially low when causing a mess in his own house, but he was just so tired. He had spilled his drink all over the floor after coming back from the kitchen to get himself a glass of red wine. The only thing that frustrated him more was that he had to go all the way back into the kitchen, fill up his glass, and go back upstairs, with the full bottle in case of any further accidents.

Charlotte and Tyler were gone for the night. She figured it'd be a good idea to give her son some fresh air and to get him away from the chaos for a while. To get them both out of the crossfire. He rolled his eyes and grumbled. His wife never bothered to tell him where the two went and when they were coming back, if at all. Perhaps she was fed up with him or something? He didn't know. He sighed heavily and shook his head, muttering obscenities to himself. He begrudgingly grabbed his keys from his desk and got up to fetch his coat. After walking over to the coat hanger, he turned around to take a good look at his office only to be met with two pairs of eyes staring back at him. The picture of their wedding day was facing him. Mocking him.

His brows furrowed as he made a pained groan. He held the picture and stared deeply into Charlotte's merry little smile. That was the first time she began wearing all of those blonde wigs. She thought she looked like the most beautiful bride there ever was, and he thought he agreed. He was in the best tuxedo money could buy, and the two looked like a million bucks. Like Bonnie and Clyde ready to take Bludhaven head on. "What a joke." he thought. Everyone was there, his old friends who were now long gone, some of his partners, some of her friends, but none of her family. Not even Sarah. Now that he thought about it, he knew nor met any of Charlotte's family outside of her sister. He cringed, remembering her wife's twin not being there for her. Though, it would have only been worse if Sara showed up. Even if she would be there just for Charlotte, her presence would be like a ghost, haunting him for his sins. He felt a twinge of guilt in his heart, easing it by placing his palm on his chest.

He looked at his contented bride and stroked her cheeks. He had no idea what drove her to wear all of those wigs, considering she was just fine in her natural afro.

"No.," he thought. "She would have looked too much like Sarah then." He placed the frame face down.

Too much like Sarah...  
~  
At the Hendricks Residence, Henry was getting some reading done in one chair, and Sarah was eating some gingerbread men and watching a strange holiday cartoon her daughter on the floor was watching. She never understood why these children's programs were so captivating to her. Even more so than any amount of reading she's ever done, which admittedly, hadn't been since her senior year of high school. She glanced at her husband across from her, staring intently at his book. Never in a million years would she understand what a college professor would want with someone like her. But thank God he chose her. As far as she was concerned, he was really her only other option. The clock was going on 9:45 now, and she needed Marie to go to sleep so they can bring out her presents.

"Come on, baby." Sarah slid off the couch and stretched out her tensed body. "Time to go to sleep, or Santa's gonna skip out on our house, okay?"

"Okay, mom." she stood up from the floor and stretched up. "I'm going to get some reading done..." she said, running to the flight of steps, dramatically turning around. "Anyways!" with that, she ran off, screaming "Christmas!" until she went to her room. Sarah rolled her eyes and went back to watching that strange cartoon about a dentist elf, Rudolph, and some lumberjack, or who she thought was a lumberjack. She didn't care much for the details, but she just couldn't stop watching.

"It's been a slow night, Sarah." Henry commented, turning a page. Sarah frowned, and her mouth stretched as she let out a long yawn.

"Yes." The room was quiet, the night was quiet, as the snow began to fall faster and faster to the ground.

~  
10 o'clock pm, Downtown Gotham. There were five trucks coming in from Star City. Each loaded with stockpiles of "bricks", Ready to be distributed to the people of Gotham. The twin crime lords paid good money for their delivery, however, after their run-in with The Batman, their supply was also seized by the GCPD. They did manage to sneak a few truckloads under the police's radar as the trucks were already headed to Gotham by the time their supply was seized. The trucks held 54,000 neatly compacted packages of cocaine altogether. This wasn't the surplus Daunte had thought he'd get. In fact, he was working with exactly a third of what he was promised. "But what the Hell?" he thought. That only made his job easier. He just wanted to get right back home.

Daunte was snug and warm in his car parked on the old warehouse lot, seeing all the bigger trucks rolling in. He brought along that bottle of wine and kept refilling his glass, over and over. A rich, sweet smelling cigar was lit in the other hand. He watched all of his underlings unload the trucks along with the goons under the underboss of his old partners. He sighed, and with great hesitance and exasperation, stopped the running car, and got out. He slammed the door. He wore his big black fur coat, draping his wide upper body, and a matching fedora. The snow fell down harder than ever. He could barely see anything He began to move, staggering over to all the men, nearly slipping on the ice.

"Aye, well if it isn't D. Don! Don Donovan! Big D! The Italian Leprechaun!" a nasally excited voice rang behind him. Daunte was shaken, and turned around. It was his faithful little lackey, Larry Lavenza. The curly haired short man with small round eyes and crows feet to pinch at their corners, with a wide corny smile. Daunte looked down at the man. His looming figure tilting ever so slightly, but his brow still furrowed.

"Don't call me that..." he grumbled, taking another puff of his cigar and a swig of his drink, coughing and almost sputtering. "So what's been- hack ack, going on?"

"Hey...you okay boss?"

"I'm fine!" he took a step back, still wobbling.

"Hey, don't worry about a thing Donovan! I've got everything under control. Just look at these bozos here." He gestured with his thumb over to the heavy built men taking each crate of cocaine into the abandoned warehouse.

"They're easy to lead, boss. You ain't got a thing to worry about!"

"Where's Jonathan!?" his volume peaked unintentionally, and his speech slurred. He took a moment, seeing that the twins' underboss was still there, making his way to them.

"Happy Holidays, Don Donovan." the underboss shook his hand. "This seems to be all the trucks coming in. We just gotta stockpile it, and all the runners will know where to turn to when they want to start sellin'.

"We're dealing with a third of what was originally planned, but we can still make a hefty profit. We got 'bout 54,000 keys altogether. If we're still selling each gram for 26 dollars on the streets, you got over 1 billion coming in for you three."

"But we still gotta split it all." Daunte mumbled, shaking his head and taking another sip of his wine.

"H-hey boss?" Larry intervened, earning a condescending look from the taller man.

"You probably shouldn't drink that stuff," he advised meekly. "We're still doing business here. Not that I don't got everything under control already!" The mobster took a long inhale of the cigar, the flames burning bright orange in the greyish blue light, and drew a long cloud of smoke. He turned his attention back to the underboss.

"Boss? Th- you know the Batman could be out here any time!"

"And I won't be out here when he does, Lavenza." Daunte turned on his heel and staggered back to his car. "It's fuckin' cold out here. I can't feel my fingers or anything. It's fuckin' bullshit to be out here this late on Christmas Eve. " he replied bitterly, feeling weak at the knees. Both Jonathan and Larry went to help the man to his ride.

"How about we discuss business elsewhere, John? I've got a nice penthouse in the Diamond District."

"Oh, you shouldn't worry about me, Don. Besides, I don't think you're fit to drive, sir. I mean- you can barely stand." Johnathan pointed out, as he and Larry went to the passenger side of the vehicle. John opened the car door with one hand and supported Daunte with the other. The two men set him down in his seat.

"Well, then one of yous is driving me there! I ain't got nothing to return to at my other house anyways." Daunte chuckled deeply, a hint of bitterness laced in his tone.

"Can't relate." John fixed his cuffs, and walked back to the goons, slaving away with the heavy crates. "Perhaps your guy can drive ya there? Since he's been working ...oh, so very hard!" he called out.

Larry frowned at John's sarcastic tone, then turned to see his bosses reaction. His ears perked up at the sight of Daunte nodding in agreement and beckoning him in with his hand.

"You know my penthouse phone in case anything happens?" Daunte asked John.

"Oh! I know it!" Larry exclaimed, reaching in his coat pocket for a pen and paper. John turned back and walked right up to the car. Larry immediately wrote the number down and handed it to John, before hopping in the driver seat. John grinned and held the paper up. He walked away to oversee everyone's progress, as Larry pulled out from the warehouse.

Larry turned back around to see the car already gone to a much cleaner, brighter, more eventful place in town. He shook his head, never understanding how someone can be so unconditionally faithful to someone like Daunte. Especially Daunte of all bosses. Still, business carried on.

Unbeknownst to the men below, a tall, dark figure loomed over them. He knelt atop the tall warehouse building. His white eyes narrowed down as Donovan was being driven away again. He heard everything going on through the microphones built into the cowl. First the goons below, then the penthouse. He stood slowly with his fists clenched. He took a step forward, then leaped for the ground, his black cape outstretched, aiding in his glide down to the ground. He landed on one knee, slowly standing in the midst of the armed goons and dumbfounded underboss who only stood there.

Petrified.

~

Daunte was sobering up upstairs in the penthouse. He was lying on the bed and stared out into the city through the large glass walls. His hat and coat were strewn out onto the floor. Lavenza had gone out to get some ice, leaving his boss to recover alone. He was nearly dozing off, remembering that card he written five days ago. He didn't know how long it took for him to put all of his thoughts into words short enough to fit one gift card. He hoped Marie would be contented with that kind of gift. He hoped he didn't screw around and write incoherent trash while he was high on emotions and heartache. But most importantly, he hoped he could sneak that incoherent trash by the girl's stubborn mother. If anything, if that's the last time he can ever have contact with his little Maria ever again, that will have to be the most important gift he could ever give her. "She's smart." he thought. "She'll understand..she'll know."

"And if she doesn't?" he heard Sarah's voice in the back of his mind. As if she was there right next to him. His mouth tilted in a triumphant smirk.

"I'll still get decent closure. No more skeletons in my closet. I've swept all the dust from under my rugs. Now it's all up to you." He thought. And this was true for him. Even if she'll never understand, he still has one less burden left to carry.

"Sarah...Sarah and Charlotte Lee.." he muttered, mouth agape. His skull was wracked with excruciating pain. He remembered the first time he actually had a real one on one with that woman, Sarah. Coincidentally, it was around Christmas eve, somewhere in the mid-70s.

~

  
_It was Christmas Eve, Bludhaven 1975. He was as dumb as he was young back then. He was in a car, a loaded gun pointed at his temple with one guy in the passenger seat. He was one of Falcone's men, and he was getting robbed of his supply. There were penalties for selling on Falcone territory, and he was going to be made an example of.  
"Yeah, we got a nice fella waiting for ya...right around...here, fella." _

___"Hey man, I-I thought the Falcone family was a Gotham based operation! You can't just set up shop wherever ya want! If only I've known- I."__ _

_____" Ignorance of the law is no excuse!" the man chuckled sadistically, a clicking sound could be heard from his small pistol, causing the young mob soldier to flinch. Daunte took a deep breath in and a long one out. He tried to stay casual, and only look slightly nervous like a taxi driver with a crazy nut in the back seat. A nut who just so happened to have a loaded piece to his head and the destination being a gang of thugs ready to beat him, shoot him, hack him into bits, and toss them over the bridge. Or scatter said bits around the neighborhood so the mob and his family can still have something to "remember him" by.__ _ _ _

_______He had met the man in the hotel. He asked him if he knew of a man named Daunte, and slipped him a 700$ wad of cash. All of his drugs were in his car in the parking lot, and so the two were going to make the deal outside. He walked a few feet ahead of the strange man, reaching in his coat pocket and turning on his walkie-talkie, in hopes that Sarah would hear this in her hotel room. But of course, once he opened the trunk, the gun was pulled.__ _ _ _ _ _

_________"Right over here..pull over, now." Daunte did as he was told, parking off to the right side of the bridge. He whistled, trying to ease his nerves. The man beside him smirked. "Afraid to die, pretty boy? Don't worry. They'll be here any minute."__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________A black car was driving in front of them. Daunte swore beneath his breath. But there wasn't a guy. There was no big burly man in a suit, orny gang emerging from the vehicle, but a woman. She had a sizable fro, which was the most prominent part of her silhouette from so far away. She was curvaceous in figure, and she carried her pear like waist with dignity and pride. There were two long objects in her hand, but they could barely make it o__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_____________"What the fu- Hey!" the man opened the car door and leaned out. He aimed the gun at the woman. "Who the fuck are y-". All Daunte heard was one single gunshot. He felt like a sloth with how slow the world around him turned. One bullet shot right through the gunman's eye, getting a bit of blood splatter on the back window. Soon, he began to slip and fall to the side, holding onto the car door as best as he could. Daunte recoiled back, still trying to see if that was truly her.__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_______________Sarah Lee, wielding a long-barrelled silverballer, had just killed his mugger. Her brows were arched and her fists were clenched around the walkie-talkie she held in the other hand. She was in orange bell bottoms, a matching crop top, and black platform heels. She was angry with him for one: for getting himself in stupid avoidable situations, and two: having her out in the cold as she was poorly dressed for such weather. She was meaning to spend her Christmas Eve in the hotel with Charlotte. Swimming in the pool, ordering room service, and having her sister's little boy toy to foot the bill. Now it's all ruined. She kicked and nudged the dead man away from the car, adding in a few more bullets to his skull. Sarah gave out a huff and sat in the passenger's seat, reaching in the glove compartment to pull out one of his cigarettes.__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________"You're making me really fucking sick and tired of your stupid bullshit, Daunte! I told your dumbass that that was one of Falcone's men you were trying to deal with!" She spoke, grabbing a zippo lighter as well. "Talk about a nice getaway trip, huh?"__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________________"Well, I'm sorry!" he frowned. "Well, we both still had our walkies on us! And You came on time!"__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_____________________"If you just listened to what I was saying, I wouldn't need your damn walkie-talkie!" she grimaced, slamming the device on the dashboard before lighting her cigarette. "He's had his eye on all the dealers now, this Falcone man. I think that guy was following you for the longest. He planned all this out!" Sarah sighed, shaking her head. "Soon there's gonna be a whole gang war in Bludhaven, and you're gonna put my sister in the crossfire! My TAKEN sister!" He pursed his lips looking over her shoulders to see the dead man.__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_______________________"You just killed a man, riddled his skull with bullets while as he was down, painted the car with his brains, kicked his corpse away like dirt, and you still have the calm to nag and complain at me?"__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________"Greasy haired asshole." she placed her gun on the dashboard. "Figured if I have to be your bodyguard all the time, I might as well get used to it." she stared at her gun, rubbing her goosebumps on her skin. She didn't even bother to throw her coat on when she heard the stick up that was going on. She was actually getting dressed to go to the pool, but she just needed to act, and fast.__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________________________"You know you don't have to just be my unpaid bodyguard. I mean- with an aim like that..you are one dangerous woman. This business still makes some good money on the side. That way, you don't have to mooch off your sis after I shower her with gifts." he smirked, his eyes wandering her pouting face. "I think you can run Falcone back into Gotham. You can run Bludhaven."__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_____________________________"Well, I don't wanna do that. I just-" her mind drifted. She had to admit, this wasn't her first kill dealing with Daunte. And the cold weighted steel in her hand granted her some type of power and agency. A feeling of gratification that she doesn't want to admit is her main incentive of sticking around with him, among other things. Daunte caught onto her silence.__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_______________________________"Well, why do you always gotta get on my back all the time? If you hate this life so much, just don't be a part of it! No one asked you to do any of this!"__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________"I'm in it because you're bringing my... sis-ter into this. You. Fucking. Asshole." She explained, as if explaining to a toddler the alphabet. "I don't want my sister's new little boy toy to die anyway. She thinks you're this smooth macho playboy in the mafia, and you ain't even a capo. Damn near pissed yourself when you realized you were selling dope to the wrong kind of people. So shut the fuck up, go back to the hotel and tell Charlotte what had happened. Tell her that her sister saved your dumbass!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________________________________"I'm her little boy toy, but she's taken?" he shrugged, resting a hand on the wheel. "Fair enough. Of course, take all the energy out on me, and not the one who was supposed to be in a relationship." he shook his head. "Broads...always together like a flock of screeching seagulls."__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_____________________________________"I'm still mad at that! And you know I told her- an- and"__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_______________________________________"And you're still letting me hang around? he smirked, scratching at his nose. Sarah was fuming. Everything about him felt so slimy and disgusting. To hell with him. She can just go back to their room and tell Charlotte he got shot up by Falcone after she pumps him full of lead.__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________Sarah was halfway out of the car when bright headlights of yet another vehicle nearly blinded the two in the car. Now, these were the men that were going to make an example out of Donovan. A white van swerved in front of them, stopping several feet ahead. Sarah gasped, shuffling herself back in and slamming the door shut. There were four men making their way out of the van. Big, muscular, with matching suits. One wielded a bat, the other two, semi-automatics, and the last one a crowbar. The woman looked at Daunte, holding up her piece silently as if asking if he brought his. He shook his head. She rolled her eyes and held onto the door handle. Her heart was pounding, they were drawing nearer, and their partner's corpse should be in their line of vision by now. She had to act.__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________________________________________"I got you."__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________________________~_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

12 am. Christmas morning. Sarah had finally got around with bringing out all of the presents from the basement underneath the Christmas Tree. All of her catnapping throughout the week ruined her sleeping patterns. She dragged her feet across the floor, trying to navigate herself around the pitch black room. Her husband, Henry, had already retired for the night, but she was still restless. She bumped into the tv stand and grabbed the remote. She stepped back a few feet to see if anything interesting was on to watch.

She flipped channel after channel until she made it across the news. The volume was a little low, and all she could see were police cars surrounding some apartment and police tape. She saw a short man, barely standing and beaten within an inch of his life being taken into police custody and a quick image of the bat symbol. Her thumb wavered a bit before pressing down on the volume up button.

____________________________________________"Yes, you heard it here first, the mobster, Don Donovan fell from the balcony of his penthouse. Two witnesses from the building across say that they did see a struggle between the criminal, and the caped crusader." Then a blonde woman gave her testimony._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________________________"Yeah, and my friend and I thought we heard gunshots at first, and we didn't check for a while until she actually told me- 'Grace, that's Batman!'"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________________________Sarah's jaw dropped. She covered her mouth, slowly feeling dizzy._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________________________" And then I looked, and yes, that was him! Holding some guy over the edge. There were two guys I think! But he didn't show up until later...the other guy I mean!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________________________" And do you think that was a deliberate drop?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_____________________________________________"I- I don't even know. Actually- I know the man was sat on the edge, and Batman bent him over. It looked like he was going to drop him. Then he just turned around and began shielding himself." She says, hiding her face in her elbow to mimic the scene. "I also heard gunshots that time too. The guy that made it must have been shooting at him while he was turned away. Then something just happened. I saw his hand just disappear into his pockets and then..I don't know! The guy on the edge was shaking back and forth, holding onto Batman's hand. I dunno if he punched his wrist or what but-"__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_______________________________________________"You think he did something to his hand or?"__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________________"Well..yeah, I think. So again..he was on the edge."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________________________________________________"Uh huh..."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_____________________________________________________"Batman was holding him and leaning him over the edge."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_______________________________________________________"Yes?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________________________"Then the other set of gunshots happened, making him shield himself with his cape. So maybe the man on the ledge did something to his wrist." she gestured in a stabbing motion. "Made him hold onto his own wrist and then...just- he fell!" the blonde explained._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________________________________________________________"Look, I don't know the full extent of it....I was just at my window and- and it was probably dark.." she continued, as if trying to save herself from getting condemned from any false testimony.__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Sarah switched the tv off and stood in silence in the dark living room. She had stayed up long enough. She needed some tea and maybe a nice warm bath. She walked in the kitchen, shaking her head. Where was Tyler? Where was his mother in all of this? What was he thinking? _"Goddamn.."_ she thought. She felt a feeling of clarity in her mind, as if going through a revelation. She looked back at all of her past decisions. She leaned against the kitchen counter and compared her boring steady life with her mild manner husband with Charlotte's life. Full of chaos, and fast living, and glitz. Glitz and glamourous lies.

She would never understand what that college professor upstairs would want with a woman like her. A woman with a high school level education and trainwreck of a life. But thank God he did chose her. Thank God he saved her.


End file.
